Method for access network virtualization and proxy node

ABSTRACT

An embodiment of the present invention discloses a method for access network virtualization and a proxy node, relates to a technical field of communication, and does not need to modify an existing management system when a new type of access network node is added into an original access network. The method of the present invention comprises: a proxy node establishing a relationship mapping table; the proxy node receiving a packet sent by a management system; the proxy node querying the relationship mapping table according to first parameter information to obtain second parameter information; and sending the packet to a remote access node corresponding to the second parameter information according to the second parameter information. The present invention is applicable to a proxy node.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of International Patent ApplicationNo. PCT/CN2014/088348, filed on Oct. 11, 2014, which claims priority toChinese Patent Application No. 201310567058.X, filed on Nov. 13, 2013,both of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to the technical field of communications,and in particular, to a method for access network virtualization and aproxy node.

BACKGROUND

An optical access network is an access network in which an optical fiberserves as a main transmission medium, and is divided into an activeoptical access network and a passive optical access network according tosystem distribution. According to where an optical network unit islocated, the passive optical access network may be divided into severaltypes such as FTTH (fiber to the home), FTTB (fiber to the building),FTTC (fiber to the curb), FTTN (fiber to the node) and FTTDp (fiber todrop/distribution point) and the like. The passive optical networktechnology is a kind of point-to-multipoint optical access networktechnology comprising an OLT (optical line terminal), an ONU (opticalnetwork unit) or an ONT (optical network terminal) and an ODN (opticaldistribution network). An MDU (multi-dwelling unit) and an MTU(multi-tenant unit) are ONUs under types of the FTTB or the FTTC or thelike. Both the MDU and the MTU are collectively referred to as an MxU,and the MxU is generally a frame-type device.

The FTTDp is a new access network type in which an optical fiber is laidto an outer wall of a residential house and the last distance within theresidential house is still connected by using an in-house copper cableor a wireless interface, which reduces cost compared with that each userneeds to lay an optical fiber in the FTTH type. A DPU (distributionpoint unit) is an ONU under the FTTDp type and is generally a cartridgedevice. The number of DPUs and of home gateways is in the same order ofmagnitude.

There exists at least a following problem in the prior art. Since a DPUis different from an MxU in structure and large in quantity, which leadsto complex operation, maintenance and management, if a provider wants toadd an access network node of the FTTDp type to an original network, amanagement system needs to be modified. However, the modification of themanagement system will increase cost of operation and maintenance, andinterrupt service of a lot of existing access network users, therebyaffecting the use of a network of a user and bringing inconvenience tothe user.

SUMMARY

Embodiments of the present invention provide a method for access networkvirtualization and a proxy node, which may reduce a problem that anexisting management system needs to be modified as a result of adding anew type of access network node to an original access network.

To achieve the above-mentioned purpose, an embodiment of the presentinvention adopts a following technical solution.

According to a first aspect, an embodiment of the present inventionprovides a method for access network virtualization, including:

establishing, by the proxy node, a relationship mapping table, where therelationship mapping table includes a mapping relationship of a networkprotocol IP address of a virtual access node AN, a user side port of thevirtual AN and a user side port of the remote access node, where thevirtual AN is a device which the management system is capable ofmanaging;

receiving a packet sent by the management system;

querying the relationship mapping table according to first parameterinformation carried in the packet to obtain second parameterinformation; and

sending the packet to a remote access node corresponding to the secondparameter information according to the second parameter information.

With reference to the first aspect, in a first possible implementationmanner, the first parameter information includes the user side port ofthe virtual AN and a destination IP address, where the destination IPaddress is an IP address of the virtual AN; and

the second parameter information includes the user side port of theremote access node.

Optionally, the proxy node at least includes a first node and a secondnode, and the first node establishes the relationship mapping table,receives the packet, queries the relationship mapping table according tothe first parameter information carried in the packet to obtain thesecond parameter information, and sends the second parameter informationto the second node;

the second node sends the packet to the remote access node correspondingto the second parameter information according to the second parameterinformation.

With reference to the first possible implementation manner, in a secondpossible implementation manner, after the obtaining second parameterinformation, the method further includes:

modifying the user side port of the virtual AN in the packet to the userside port of the remote access node.

Optionally, the mapping relationship in the relationship mapping tablefurther includes the remote access node identifier ID;

the first parameter information includes the user side port of thevirtual AN and an IP address of the virtual AN, and the second parameterinformation includes the remote access node ID and the user side port ofthe remote access node;

the first node sending the second parameter information to the secondnode, includes:

modifying, by the first node, the user side port of the virtual AN inthe packet to the user side port of the remote access node, andforwarding the packet to the second node, where the packet carries theremote access node ID and the user side port of the remote access node;and

the second node sending the packet to the remote access nodecorresponding to the second parameter information according to thesecond parameter information, includes:

encapsulating, by the second node, the packet sent by the first nodeinto a frame and adding the remote access node ID in the frame; andsending the frame to the corresponding remote access node.

With reference to the second possible implementation manner, in a thirdpossible implementation manner, the sending the packet to a remoteaccess node corresponding to the second parameter information accordingto the second parameter information includes:

encapsulating the packet into a frame and adding a remote access nodeidentifier ID in the frame, where the remote access node identifier IDis obtained according to the user side port of the remote access node,or the remote access node identifier ID is obtained by querying therelationship mapping table according to the user side port of thevirtual AN and the IP address of the virtual AN, where the mappingrelationship in the relationship mapping table further includes theremote access node identifier ID; and

sending the frame to the corresponding remote access node.

With reference to the first aspect or any one of the possibleimplementation manners, in a fourth possible implementation manner, themapping relationship in the relationship mapping table further includesan IP address of the remote access node;

the second parameter information further includes the IP address of theremote access node.

With reference to the fourth possible implementation manner, in a fifthpossible implementation manner, before the encapsulating the packet intoa frame and adding the remote access node identifier ID in the frame,the method further includes: modifying the destination IP address in thepacket to the IP address of the remote access node.

With reference to the first aspect or any one of the possibleimplementation manners, in a sixth possible implementation manner, themapping relationship in the relationship mapping table further includesa user side port of the proxy node and the second parameter informationfurther includes the user side port of the proxy node.

With reference to the first aspect or any one of the possibleimplementation manners, in a seventh possible implementation manner, theproxy node corresponds to at least two remote access nodes.

According to a second aspect, the embodiments of the present inventionprovide a proxy node, including:

an establishing unit, configured to establish a relationship mappingtable, where the relationship mapping table includes a mappingrelationship of a network protocol IP address of a virtual access nodeAN, a user side port of the virtual AN and a user side port of theremote access node, where the virtual AN is a device which themanagement system is capable of managing;

a receiving unit, configured to receive a packet sent by the managementsystem;

a querying unit, configured to query the relationship mapping tableestablished by the establishing unit according to first parameterinformation carried in the packet and received by the receiving unit, toobtain second parameter information; and a sending unit, configured tosend the packet to a remote access node corresponding to the secondparameter information according to the second parameter informationqueried by the querying unit.

With reference to the second aspect, in a first possible implementationmanner, the first parameter information includes the user side port ofthe virtual AN and a destination IP address, where the destination IPaddress is an IP address of the virtual AN;

the second parameter information includes the user side port of theremote access node.

Optionally, the proxy node at least includes a first node and a secondnode, and the first node establishes the relationship mapping table,receives the packet, queries the relationship mapping table according tothe first parameter information carried in the packet, obtains thesecond parameter information, and sends the second parameter informationto the second node;

the second node sends the packet to the remote access node correspondingto the second parameter information according to the second parameterinformation.

With reference to the first possible implementation manner, in a secondpossible implementation manner, the proxy node further includes:

a modifying unit, configured to modify the user side port of the virtualAN in the packet received by the receiving unit to the user side port ofthe remote access node obtained by the querying unit.

Optionally, the mapping relationship in the relationship mapping tablefurther includes the remote access node identifier ID;

the first parameter information includes the user side port of thevirtual AN and an IP address of the virtual AN, and the second parameterinformation includes the remote access node ID and the user side port ofthe remote access node;

the first node sending the second parameter information to the secondnode, includes:

modifying, by the first node, the user side port of the virtual AN inthe packet to the user side port of the remote access node, andforwarding the packet to the second node, where the packet carries theremote access node ID and the user side port of the remote access node;

the second node sending the packet to the remote access nodecorresponding to the second parameter information according to thesecond parameter information, includes:

encapsulating, by the second node, the packet sent by the first nodeinto a frame and adding the remote access node ID in the frame; andsending the frame to the corresponding remote access node.

With reference to the second possible implementation manner, in a thirdpossible implementation manner, the sending unit includes:

an encapsulating subunit, configured to encapsulate the packet modifiedby the modifying unit into a frame and add a remote access nodeidentifier ID in the frame, where the remote access node identifier IDis obtained according to the user side port of the remote access node,or the remote access node identifier ID is obtained by querying therelationship mapping table according to the user side port of thevirtual AN and the IP address of the virtual AN, where the mappingrelationship in the relationship mapping table further includes theremote access node identifier ID;

a sending subunit, configured to send the frame encapsulated by theencapsulating subunit to a corresponding remote access node.

With reference to the second aspect or any one of the possibleimplementation manners, in a fourth possible implementation manner, themapping relationship in the relationship mapping table further includesan IP address of the remote access node;

the second parameter information further includes the IP address of theremote access node.

With reference to the fourth possible implementation manner, in a fifthpossible implementation manner, the modifying unit is further configuredto modify the destination IP address in the packet received by thereceiving unit to the IP address of the remote access node obtained bythe querying unit.

With reference to the second aspect or any one of the possibleimplementation manners, in a sixth possible implementation manner, themapping relationship in the relationship mapping table further includesa user side port of the proxy node and the second parameter informationfurther includes the user side port of the proxy node.

With reference to the second aspect or any one of the possibleimplementation manners, in a seventh possible implementation manner, theproxy node corresponds to at least two remote access nodes.

According to a method for access network virtualization and a proxy nodeprovided in an embodiment of the present invention, compared with aproblem in the prior art that operation and maintenance cost isincreased caused by a modification of an existing operation andmaintenance support system when a new type (e.g. FTTDp) of accessnetwork node (i.e., the remote access node) is added into an originalnetwork, a relationship mapping table is set on the proxy node in thepresent invention, where the relationship mapping table includes amapping relationship of a network protocol IP address of a virtualaccess node AN, a user side port of the virtual AN and a user side portof the remote access node, where the virtual AN is a device which themanagement system is capable of managing; after receiving the packetsent by the management device, the proxy node queries the relationshipmapping table according to the packet content; and then the packet issent to the corresponding remote access node according to a queryingresult. In this way, the existing management system does not need to bemodified, thereby reducing the operation and maintenance cost andshortening integration time of the system, such that the influence onother users will be reduced. Further, multiple remote access nodes mayalso be virtualized to one virtual AN, and since the provider performsmanagement and control in units of virtual ANs, rather than performingmanagement and maintenance on a large number of remote access nodesdirectly, the operation and maintenance cost is greatly reduced.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

To illustrate the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of thepresent invention more clearly, a brief introduction on the accompanyingdrawings which are needed in the embodiments will be given below.Apparently, the accompanying drawings in the description below aremerely some of the embodiments of the present invention, based on whichother drawings may be obtained by those skilled in the art without anyinventive efforts.

FIG. 1 is a network architecture diagram provided by an embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram of a method provided by an embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 3 is a network architecture diagram provided by another embodimentof the present invention;

FIGS. 4-7 are flow diagrams of a method provided by another embodimentof the present invention;

FIG. 8 and FIG. 9 are schematic diagrams of a structure of a proxy nodeprovided by another embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of a structure of a proxy node providedby another embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

A clear description of technical solutions provided in the embodimentsof the present invention will be given below, in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present invention.Apparently, the embodiments described below are merely a part, but notall, of the embodiments of the present invention. All of otherembodiments, obtained by those skilled in the art based on theembodiments of the present invention without any inventive efforts, fallinto the protection scope of the present invention.

It should be noted that, a proxy node in a present embodiment isillustrated by merely taking an OLT and an IP edge node as examples. Inactual implementation process, the proxy node may also be a node inother types, for example, an aggregation node, and a specific type ofthe proxy node will not be defined herein.

A technical solution provided in an embodiment of the present inventionmay be used to an access network, where the access network includes aremote access node, a proxy node and a management system. The remoteaccess node may be various devices such as an ONU, an ONT, a DPU, anMxU, a DSLAM (digital subscriber line access multiplexer), a switch or aCMTS (cable modem terminal system) or the like, and the remote accessnode is connected to a client device; the proxy node may be a devicesuch as an OLT, a DSLAM, an IP (internet protocol) edge node, a switch,a router or the like, and data may be transmitted between the remoteaccess node and the proxy node in various access manners, such as a DSL(digital subscriber line), an Ethernet (Ethernet), a PON (passiveoptical network) or the like; and the management system may be a router,a server or the like, which may transmit data with the proxy node byusing a packet.

An embodiment of the present invention provide a method for accessnetwork virtualization, as shown in FIG. 1, a remote access node (whichis generally a miniaturized device) is virtualized as an access nodewhich may be identified by a management system, namely a virtual AN. Aprovider performs control and management on the remote access node inaccordance with the virtual AN by setting a virtual AN (access node)proxy, for example, a virtual AN (access node) proxy may be set at aproxy node, and a provider network management or a management systemperforms control and management on the remote access node by using thevirtual AN proxy. As shown in FIG. 2, the method includes followings.

101. A proxy node establishes a relationship mapping table.

The relationship mapping table includes a mapping relationship of anetwork protocol IP address of a virtual access node AN, a user sideport of the virtual AN and a user side port of the remote access node,where the virtual AN is a device which the management system is capableof managing.

Optionally, if an IP address is allocated to the remote access node, themapping relationship in the relationship mapping table may furtherinclude the IP address of the remote access node.

102. The proxy node receives a packet sent by a management system.

The packet carries the user side port of the virtual AN and adestination IP address, where the destination IP address is an IPaddress of the virtual AN.

103. The proxy node queries the relationship mapping table according tofirst parameter information carried in the packet to obtain secondparameter information.

It should be noted that the first parameter information includes theuser side port of the virtual AN and the destination IP address; and thesecond parameter information includes the user side port of the remoteaccess node.

The proxy node queries the relationship mapping table according to theuser side port of the virtual AN and the IP address of the virtual AN toobtain the user side port of the remote access node and modifies theuser side port of the virtual AN in the packet to the user side port ofthe remote access node.

Optionally, if an IP address is allocated to the remote access node, byquerying the relationship mapping table the second parameter informationfurther includes the IP address of the remote access node. When thepacket is modified, the destination IP address in the packet needs to bemodified to the IP address of the remote access node.

104. The proxy node sends the packet to a remote access nodecorresponding to the second parameter information according to thesecond parameter information.

The proxy node encapsulates the packet into a frame, adds a remoteaccess node ID (identifier) in the frame and then sends the frame to acorresponding remote access node.

Optionally, the remote access node ID is obtained according to the userside port of the remote access node, or the remote access nodeidentifier ID is obtained by querying the relationship mapping tableaccording to the user side port of the virtual AN and the IP address ofthe virtual AN. In the second case, the mapping relationship in therelationship mapping table further includes the remote access nodeidentifier ID.

Optionally, the proxy node at least includes a first node and a secondnode. The first node establishes the relationship mapping table,receives the packet, queries the relationship mapping table according tothe first parameter information carried in the packet to obtain thesecond parameter information, and sends the second parameter informationto the second node; and the second node sends the packet to the remoteaccess node corresponding to the second parameter information accordingto the second parameter information.

Further, the mapping relationship in the relationship mapping tablefurther includes a remote access node identifier ID. The first parameterinformation includes the user side port of the virtual AN and an IPaddress of the virtual AN, and the second parameter information includesthe remote access node ID and the user side port of the remote accessnode. The first node sending the second parameter information to thesecond node includes: the first node modifies the user side port of thevirtual AN in the packet to the user side port of the remote access nodeand forwards the packet to the second node, where the packet carries theremote access node ID and the user side port of the remote access node.The second node sending the packet to the remote access nodecorresponding to the second parameter information according to thesecond parameter information includes: the second node encapsulates thepacket sent by the first node into a frame, adds the remote access nodeID in the frame, and sends the frame to a corresponding remote accessnode.

It should be noted that, the mapping relationship in the relationshipmapping table may further include a user side port of the proxy node.Accordingly, the second parameter information may further include theuser side port of the proxy node, such that the proxy node may determinefrom which user side port of the proxy node a packet is sent by queryingthe relationship mapping table when sending the packet to the remoteaccess node.

In addition, in an embodiment, a proxy node corresponds to at least tworemote access nodes and multiple remote access nodes are virtualizedinto one virtual AN. In this way, it may reduce the pressure of amanagement system for managing a large number of remote access nodes.

For example, when the proxy node establishes the relationship mappingtable, it may allocate the IP address to the virtual AN. The IP addressof the virtual AN may be allocated manually and the management systemneeds to be informed after the IP address is allocated.

Optionally, a manner of informing the management system of the IPaddress of the virtual AN may be that the proxy node broadcasts the IPaddress of the virtual AN by using a protocol to inform the managementsystem to update an address in a routing table. Alternatively, addressinformation in the management system is updated manually.

It should be noted that, an optimal manner that a virtual AN proxy isset at the proxy node to assist the management system in performingcontrol and management on the remote access node is that an IP addressis allocated to each virtual AN, rather than that an IP address isallocated to each remote access node, such that allocation andmanagement of the IP address may be reduced, and operation andmaintenance cost may be reduced.

In the prior art, when a new type (e.g. FTTDp) of access network node(i.e., the remote access node) is added into an original network, anexisting management system needs to be modified, thereby increasingoperation and maintenance cost. Compared with the prior art, arelationship mapping table is set on the proxy node in the embodiment ofthe present invention, where the relationship mapping table includes amapping relationship of an IP address of a virtual AN, a user side portof the virtual AN and a user side port of the remote access node, wherethe virtual AN is a device which the management system is capable ofmanaging; after receiving the packet sent by the management device, theproxy node queries the relationship mapping table according to thepacket content; and then the packet is sent to the corresponding remoteaccess node according to querying result. In this way, problems in theprior art that the operation and maintenance cost is increased andquality of network service provided for users is reduced are solved. Asthe above technical problem is solved, the existing management systemdoes not need to be modified, so that the operation and maintenance costmay be reduced and integration time of the system may be shortened,thereby reducing influence on other users. Further, multiple remoteaccess nodes may also be virtualized to one virtual AN, and since theprovider performs management and control in units of virtual ANs, ratherthan performing management and maintenance on a large number of remoteaccess nodes directly, the operation and maintenance cost is greatlyreduced.

Another embodiment of the present invention provides a method for accessnetwork virtualization, which is used for a proxy node. The proxy nodeincludes a first node and a second node, an IP edge node is taken as anexample for the first node, and an OLT is taken as an example for thesecond node. A network architecture is shown in FIG. 3, client device 1,client device 2 and client device 3 are connected to DPU1, DPU2 andDPU3, respectively, and DPU1, DPU2 and DPU3 are connected to the OLT,which is an FTTDp type access network; client device 4 is connected toan MxU and the MxU is connected to the OLT, which is an FTTB or FTTCtype access network. During an implementation of the present invention,a virtual AN proxy is set on the proxy node, namely a DPU proxy, andthen a management system performs control and management on three DPUsin accordance with a virtualization MxU by using the virtual AN proxy.The virtual AN proxy corresponds to the three DPUs, namely, the threeDPUs are virtualized into one MxU, i.e., a virtual AN. In order todistinguish from other MxUs in the network, the virtual MxU is marked asMxU1. The virtual AN proxy includes a first level DPU proxy and a secondlevel DPU proxy, the first level DPU proxy is located at the IP edgenode, and the second level DPU proxy is located at the OLT. As shown inFIG. 4, the method includes:

201. A proxy node allocates an IP address for a virtual AN.

An IP address may be allocated to each virtual AN, which may beallocated manually, and the management system needs to be informed afterthe IP address is allocated.

Optionally, a manner of informing the management system of the IPaddress of the virtual AN may be that the proxy node broadcasts the IPaddress of the virtual AN by using a protocol to inform the managementsystem to update an address in a routing table; or address informationin the management system is updated manually.

202. The proxy node establishes a relationship mapping table accordingto the IP address of the virtual AN, a user side port of the virtual AN,an ID of the DPU, a user side port of the DPU and a user side port of anOLT.

For example, in a network shown in FIG. 2, a virtual AN proxy is set atthe proxy node, an IP address is allocated as 10.66.93.110, and thevirtual AN proxy corresponds to the three DPUs: DPU1, DPU2 and DPU3.There is only one user side port in each of DPU1 and DPU2, and there arefour user side ports in DPU3; DPU1, DPU2 and DPU3 are connected to theuser side port of the OLT. The relationship mapping table is establishedaccording to above-mentioned information, as shown in table 1.

TABLE 1 ID of user side user side IP address virtual AN the port port ofvirtual AN user side port DPU of DPU of OLT 10.66.93.110 MxU1/ 1DPU1/port1 OLT1/ slot1/port1 slot1/port1 MxU1/ 2 DPU2/port1 OLT1/slot2/port1 slot1/port1 MxU1/ 3 DPU3/ OLT1/ slot3/port1 slot1/port1slot1/port1 MxU1/ 3 DPU3/ OLT1/ slot3/port2 slot1/port2 slot1/port1MxU1/ 3 DPU3/ OLT1/ slot3/port3 slot1/port3 slot1/port1 MxU1/ 3 DPU3/OLT1/ slot3/port4 slot1/port4 slot1/port1

It should be noted that, an information format of user side port of eachaccess node is: (an access node ID, a port number and a virtual localarea network ID). The access node ID may be a remote node identifier, aproxy node identifier or a virtual AN identifier; the port number may bea combination of one or multiple of a chassis number, a rack number, aframe number, a slot number, a sub-slot number and a port number of adevice; the virtual local area network ID may be an options, and whenuser side port information of the access node is used, the virtual localarea network ID may not be included.

203. The first node receives a packet sent by the management system,where the user side port of the virtual AN and an IP address of thevirtual AN are carried in the packet.

A type of packet that the management system sends to the OLT may be aPPPoE (point-to-point protocol over Ethernet) packet, a DHCP (dynamichost configuration protocol) packet, an ANCP (access node controlprotocol) packet or an SNMP (simple network management protocol) packet,etc. If data in the packet needs to transmit to a DPU corresponding tothe virtual AN, the user side port of the virtual AN and a destinationIP address are carried in the packet, and the destination IP address isthe IP address of the virtual the AN.

For example, as shown in table 1, if data in the packet received by theproxy node needs to be transmitted to DPU1, the user side port of thevirtual AN carried in the packet is MxU1/slot1/port1 and the destinationIP address is 10.66.93.110.

204. The first node queries the relationship mapping table according tothe user side port of the virtual AN and the destination IP address ofthe virtual AN carried in the packet to obtain the user side port of theDPU and the user side port of the OLT.

It should be noted that, after receiving the packet, the proxy node maydetermine whether the packet is a packet that sends to the DPUcorresponding to the virtual AN according to the destination IP address.

205. The first node modifies the user side port of the virtual AN in thepacket to the user side port of the DPU, and forwards the packet to thesecond node.

The packet carries the user side port of the OLT and the user side portof the DPU.

Optionally, the packet may also carry the ID of the DPU.

For example, as shown in table 1, if data in the packet received by theproxy node needs to be transmitted to DPU1, after the relationshipmapping table is queried at the IP edge node, the user side port of thevirtual AN MxU1/slot1/port1 carried in the packet is modified toDPU1/port1 and then the packet is forwarded.

206. The second node receives the packet forwarded by the first node,encapsulates the packet into a frame and adds the ID of the DPU in theframe.

For example, the ID of the DPU may be obtained according to the userside port of the DPU, such as it obtains from a name of the user sideport of the DPU, and at this time the name of the user side port of theDPU conforms to certain naming conventions. For example, the user sideport of the DPU DPU1/port1 in table 1 denotes the ID of the DPU is 1 andthe port number of the DPU is 1. For another example, the ID of the DPUmay also be obtained by querying the relationship mapping table at theIP edge node in step 204 and sent to the OLT by using theabove-mentioned packet. Frame encapsulation is the prior art and isgenerally divided into: filling a header field of a frame, filling adata field, calculating and filling a CRC (cyclic redundancy check)check code. The ID of the DPU needs to be added in the frame when theframe is encapsulated.

207. The second node sends the frame to a corresponding DPU according tothe user side port of the DPU.

The OLT sends the frame from a user side port and the frame istransmitted to a corresponding DPU through an ODU.

For example, if the OLT sends the frame to DPU1, it needs to send theframe from port OLT1/slot1/port1, and then transmit to DPU1 through anODU.

Optionally, after establishing the relationship mapping table, the proxynode processes data between the DPU and the management system accordingto corresponding relationship in the table. The above-mentioned step isa process that the proxy node processes downstream data, and when theproxy node processes upstream data, as shown in FIG. 5, after step 201and step 202, it may also includes step 208 to step 212.

208. The second node receives the frame sent by the DPU, and the userside port of the DPU is carried in the packet within frame payload.

The OLT receives the frame sent by the DPU from the user side port andthe user side port of the DPU is carried in the packet within framepayload.

209. The second node decapsulates the packet from the frame and forwardsthe packet to the first node.

Decapsulation is the prior art, which aims to read data carried in theframe.

210. The first node receives the packet, queries the relationshipmapping table according to the user side port of the DPU to obtain theuser side port of the virtual AN and the IP address of the virtual AN.

The user side port of the DPU may be obtained from decapsulated packetand the relationship mapping table is queried according to the user sideport of the DPU and the ID of the DPU. The user side port of the virtualAN and the IP address of the virtual AN corresponding to the DPU may beobtained by querying the relationship mapping table.

211. The first node modifies the user side port of the DPU in the packetto the user side port of the virtual AN and a source IP address ismodified to the IP address of the virtual AN.

For example, as shown in table 1, the proxy node receives the frame sentby DPU1 and modifies DPU1/port1 in the decapsulated packet toMxU1/slot1/port1, and modifies the source IP address to 10.66.93.110.

212. The first node sends the packet to the management system.

The sent packet carries the user side port of the virtual AN and the IPaddress of the virtual AN. A type of the packet may be a PPPoE packet, aDHCP packet, an ANCP packet or an SNMP packet or the like.

Optionally, in a network shown in FIG. 3, an IP address may be allocatedfor each DPU. If an IP address is allocated to the DPU, an IP addressentry of the DPU is also included when the relationship mapping table isestablished in step 202, and the established relationship mapping tableis shown in table 2; in step 204 and step 210, the relationship mappingtable of table 2 needs to be queried; in step 205, the destination IPaddress in the packet also needs to be modified to the IP address of theDPU. When the proxy node possesses downstream data, a method process isshown in FIG. 6; when the proxy node possesses upstream data, a methodprocess is shown in FIG. 7.

TABLE 2 IP address virtual AN ID of user side user side of virtual userside the IP address port port AN port DPU of the DPU of DPU of OLT10.66.93.110 MxU1/ 1 10.66.93.111 DPU1/port1 OLT1/ slot1/port1slot1/port1 MxU1/ 2 10.66.93.112 DPU2/port1 OLT1/ slot2/port1slot1/port1 MxU1/ 3 10.66.93.113 DPU3/ OLT1/ slot3/port1 slot1/port1slot1/port1 MxU1/ 3 DPU3/ OLT1/ slot3/port2 slot1/port2 slot1/port1MxU1/ 3 DPU3/ OLT1/ slot3/port3 slot1/port3 slot1/port1 MxU1/ 3 DPU3/OLT1/ slot3/port4 slot1/port4 slot1/port1

It should be noted that, an optimal manner that a virtual AN proxy isset at the proxy node to assist the management system in performingcontrol and management on the remote access node is that an IP addressis allocated to each virtual AN, rather than that an IP address isallocated to each remote access node, such that allocation andmanagement of the IP address may be reduced and operation andmaintenance cost may be reduced.

Optionally, the proxy node may also only include one node and the nodemay be an OLT or an IP edge node, then above-mentioned processes of dataprocessing are all completed on the node.

In the prior art, when a new type (e.g. FTTDp) of access network node(i.e., the remote access node) is added into an original network, anexisting management system needs to be modified, thereby increasingoperation and maintenance cost. Compared with the prior art, the virtualAN proxy is set on the proxy node in the embodiment of the presentinvention and a relationship mapping table is established in the virtualAN proxy, which includes a mapping relationship of an IP address of avirtual AN, a user side port of the virtual AN and a user side port ofthe DPU, where the virtual AN is a device which the management system iscapable of managing; when downstream data is processed, after receivinga packet sent by the management system, the first node queries therelationship mapping table according to packet content, then modifiescorresponding content according to querying result and then forwards itto the second node, and the second node sends the packet to acorresponding DPU; when upstream data is processed, the second nodereceives the packet and forwards it to the first node, the first nodequeries the relationship mapping table, modifies corresponding contentand then sends the packet to the management system. In this way,problems in the prior art that the operation and maintenance cost isincreased and quality of network service provided for users is reducedare solved. As the above technical problem is solved, the existingmanagement system does not need to be modified, so that the operationand maintenance cost may be reduced and integration time of the systemmay be shortened, thereby reducing influence on other users. Further,multiple remote access nodes may also be virtualized to one virtual AN,and since the provider performs management and control in units ofvirtual ANs, rather than performing management and maintenance on alarge number of remote access nodes directly, the operation andmaintenance cost is greatly reduced.

Yet another embodiment of the present invention provides a proxy node40, as shown in FIG. 8, where the proxy node 40 includes:

an establishing unit 41, configured to establish a relationship mappingtable, where the relationship mapping table includes a mappingrelationship of a network protocol IP address of a virtual access nodeAN, a user side port of the virtual AN and a user side port of theremote access node, where the virtual AN is a device which themanagement system is capable of managing;

a receiving unit 42, configured to receive a packet sent by themanagement system;

a querying unit 43, configured to query the relationship mapping tableestablished by the establishing unit 41 according to first parameterinformation carried in the packet and received by the receiving unit 42,to obtain second parameter information;

a sending unit 44, configured to send the packet to a remote access nodecorresponding to the second parameter information according to thesecond parameter information queried by the querying unit 43.

the first parameter information includes the user side port of thevirtual AN and a destination IP address, where the destination IPaddress is an IP address of the virtual AN; the second parameterinformation includes the user side port of the remote access node.

Further, as shown in FIG. 9, the proxy node 40 further includes:

a modifying unit 45, configured to modify the user side port of thevirtual AN received by the receiving unit 42 in the packet to the userside port of the remote access node obtained by the querying unit 43.

Further, as shown in FIG. 9, the sending unit 44 includes:

an encapsulating subunit 441, configured to encapsulate the packetmodified by the modifying unit 45 into a frame and add a remote accessnode identifier ID in the frame, where the remote access node identifierID is obtained according to the user side port of the remote accessnode, or the remote access node identifier ID is obtained by queryingthe relationship mapping table according to the user side port of thevirtual AN and the IP address of the virtual AN, where the mappingrelationship in the relationship mapping table further includes theremote access node identifier ID;

a sending subunit 442, configured to send the frame encapsulated by theencapsulating subunit 441 to a corresponding remote access node.

The mapping relationship in the relationship mapping table furtherincludes an IP address of the remote access node; the second parameterinformation further includes the IP address of the remote access node.

Further, the modifying unit 45 is further configured to:

modify the destination IP address received by the receiving unit 42 inthe packet to the IP address of the remote access node obtained by thequerying unit 43.

The mapping relationship in the relationship mapping table furtherincludes a user side port of the proxy node and the second parameterinformation further includes the user side port of the proxy node. Theproxy node corresponds to at least two remote access nodes.

Optionally, the proxy node at least includes a first node and a secondnode, and the first node establishes the relationship mapping table,receives the packet, queries the relationship mapping table according tothe first parameter information carried in the packet, obtains thesecond parameter information, and sends the second parameter informationto the second node; the second node sends the packet to the remoteaccess node corresponding to the second parameter information accordingto the second parameter information. The mapping relationship in therelationship mapping table further includes the remote access nodeidentifier ID; the first parameter information includes the user sideport of the virtual AN and an IP address of the virtual AN, and thesecond parameter information includes the remote access node ID and theuser side port of the remote access node; the first node sending thesecond parameter information to the second node, includes: modifying, bythe first node, the user side port of the virtual AN in the packet tothe user side port of the remote access node, and forwarding the packetto the second node, where the packet carries the remote access node IDand the user side port of the remote access node; the second nodesending the packet to the remote access node corresponding to the secondparameter information according to the second parameter information,includes: encapsulating, by the second node, the packet sent by thefirst node into a frame and adding the remote access node ID in theframe; and sending the frame to the corresponding remote access node.

In the prior art, when a new type (e.g. FTTDp) of access network node(i.e., the remote access node) is added into an original network, anexisting management system needs to be modified, thereby increasingoperation and maintenance cost. Compared with the prior art, arelationship mapping table is set on the proxy node 40 in the embodimentof the present invention, where the relationship mapping table includesa mapping relationship of an IP address of a virtual AN, a user sideport of the virtual AN and a user side port of the remote access node,where the virtual AN is a device which the management system is capableof managing; after receiving the packet sent by the management device,the proxy node 40 queries the relationship mapping table according tothe packet content; and then the packet is sent to the correspondingremote access node according to querying result. In this way, problemsin the prior art that the operation and maintenance cost is increasedand quality of network service provided for users is reduced are solved.As the above technical problem is solved, the existing management systemdoes not need to be modified, so that the operation and maintenance costmay be reduced and integration time of the system may be shortened,thereby reducing influence on other users. Further, multiple remoteaccess nodes may also be virtualized to one virtual AN, and since theprovider performs management and control in units of virtual ANs, ratherthan performing management and maintenance on a large number of remoteaccess nodes directly, the operation and maintenance cost is greatlyreduced.

Yet another embodiment of the present invention provides a proxy node50, as shown in FIG. 10, the proxy node 50 includes:

a processor 51, configured to establish a relationship mapping table,where the relationship mapping table includes a mapping relationship ofa network protocol IP address of a virtual access node AN, a user sideport of the virtual AN and a user side port of the remote access node,where the virtual AN is a device which the management system is capableof managing;

a receiver 52, configured to receive a packet sent by the managementsystem;

the processor 51 is further configured to query the relationship mappingtable according to first parameter information carried in the packet toobtain second parameter information;

a transmitter 53, configured to send the packet to a remote access nodecorresponding to the second parameter information according to thesecond parameter information.

The first parameter information includes the user side port of thevirtual AN and a destination IP address, where the destination IPaddress is an IP address of the virtual AN; the second parameterinformation includes the user side port of the remote access node.

Further, the processor 51 is further configured to modify the user sideport of the virtual AN in the packet to the user side port of the remoteaccess node.

Further, the processor 51 is further configured to encapsulate thepacket modified by the modifying unit into a frame and add a remoteaccess node identifier ID in the frame, where the remote access nodeidentifier ID is obtained according to the user side port of the remoteaccess node, or the remote access node identifier ID is obtained byquerying the relationship mapping table according to the user side portof the virtual AN and the IP address of the virtual AN, where themapping relationship in the relationship mapping table further includesthe remote access node identifier ID;

The transmitter 53 is further configured to send the frame encapsulatedby the encapsulating subunit to a corresponding remote access node.

The mapping relationship in the relationship mapping table furtherincludes an IP address of the remote access node; the second parameterinformation further includes the IP address of the remote access node.

Further, the processor 51 is further configured to modify thedestination IP address in the packet to the IP address of the remoteaccess node.

The mapping relationship in the relationship mapping table furtherincludes a user side port of the proxy node and the second parameterinformation further includes the user side port of the proxy node. Theproxy node corresponds to at least two remote access nodes.

Optionally, the proxy node at least includes a first node and a secondnode, and the first node establishes the relationship mapping table,receives the packet, queries the relationship mapping table according tothe first parameter information carried in the packet, obtains thesecond parameter information, and sends the second parameter informationto the second node; the second node sends the packet to the remoteaccess node corresponding to the second parameter information accordingto the second parameter information. The mapping relationship in therelationship mapping table further includes the remote access nodeidentifier ID; the first parameter information includes the user sideport of the virtual AN and an IP address of the virtual AN, and thesecond parameter information includes the remote access node ID and theuser side port of the remote access node; the first node sending thesecond parameter information to the second node, includes: modifying, bythe first node, the user side port of the virtual AN in the packet tothe user side port of the remote access node, and forwarding the packetto the second node, where the packet carries the remote access node IDand the user side port of the remote access node; the second nodesending the packet to the remote access node corresponding to the secondparameter information according to the second parameter information,includes: encapsulating, by the second node, the packet sent by thefirst node into a frame and adding the remote access node ID in theframe; and sending the frame to the corresponding remote access node.

In the prior art, when a new type (e.g. FTTDp) of access network node(i.e., the remote access node) is added into an original network, anexisting management system needs to be modified, thereby increasingoperation and maintenance cost. Compared with the prior art, arelationship mapping table is set on the proxy node 50 in the embodimentof the present invention, where the relationship mapping table includesa mapping relationship of an IP address of a virtual AN, a user sideport of the virtual AN and a user side port of the remote access node,where the virtual AN is a device which the management system is capableof managing; after receiving the packet sent by the management device,the proxy node 50 queries the relationship mapping table according tothe packet content; and then the packet is sent to the correspondingremote access node according to querying result. In this way, problemsin the prior art that the operation and maintenance cost is increasedand quality of network service provided for users is reduced are solved.As the above technical problem is solved, the existing management systemdoes not need to be modified, so that the operation and maintenance costmay be reduced and integration time of the system may be shortened,thereby reducing influence on other users. Further, multiple remoteaccess nodes may also be virtualized to one virtual AN, and since theprovider performs management and control in units of virtual ANs, ratherthan performing management and maintenance on a large number of remoteaccess nodes directly, the operation and maintenance cost is greatlyreduced.

A proxy node provided in the embodiment of the present invention mayimplement the method embodiments provided above, its specific functionimplementation refers to descriptions in the method embodiments, andwill not be repeated redundantly herein. An access networkvirtualization method and a proxy node provided in the embodiment of thepresent invention may be applicable to a proxy node, but it is notlimited hereto.

Each embodiment in the present description is described in a progressivemanner, same or similar portion among each of embodiments may refer toeach other, and each embodiment focuses on illustration of thedifference from other embodiments. In particular, for the deviceembodiments, since they are basically similar to the method embodiments,the illustration is simple and related portions may refer to partialillustration of the method embodiments.

Those of ordinary skill in the art may understand that all or a part ofthe steps for achieving the above-mentioned method embodiments may beimplemented with a computer program instructing corresponding hardware.The foregoing program may be stored in a computer readable storagemedium. When being executed, the program may execute the steps of theabove-mentioned method embodiments. The foregoing storage medium may bea magnetic disk, an optical disk, a read-only memory (ROM) or a randomaccess memory (RAM) and the like.

The foregoing descriptions are merely specific embodiments of thepresent invention, rather than limiting the protection scope of thepresent invention. Any skilled one who is familiar with this art couldreadily think of modifications or substitutions within the disclosedtechnical scope of the present invention, and these modifications orsubstitutions shall fall within the protection scope of the presentinvention. Accordingly, the protection scope of the claims shouldprevail over the protection scope of the present invention.

1. A method for access network virtualization, applied in a systemcomprising a remote access node, a proxy node and a management system,wherein the method comprises: establishing, by the proxy node, arelationship mapping table, wherein the relationship mapping tablecomprises a mapping relationship of a network protocol (IP) address of avirtual access node (AN), a user side port of the virtual AN and a userside port of the remote access node, wherein the virtual AN is a devicewhich the management system is capable of managing; receiving a packetsent by the management system; querying the relationship mapping tableaccording to first parameter information carried in the packet to obtainsecond parameter information; and sending the packet to a remote accessnode corresponding to the second parameter information according to thesecond parameter information.
 2. The method according to claim 1,wherein the first parameter information comprises the user side port ofthe virtual AN and a destination IP address, the destination IP addressis an IP address of the virtual AN, and the second parameter informationcomprises the user side port of the remote access node.
 3. The methodaccording to claim 2, wherein after the obtaining the second parameterinformation, the method further comprises: modifying the user side portof the virtual AN in the packet to the user side port of the remoteaccess node.
 4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the sending thepacket to the remote access node corresponding to the second parameterinformation according to the second parameter information comprises:encapsulating the packet into a frame and adding a remote access nodeidentifier (ID) in the frame, wherein the remote access node ID isobtained using one of following manners: the remote access node ID beingobtained according to the user side port of the remote access node, andthe remote access node ID being obtained by querying the relationshipmapping table according to the user side port of the virtual AN and theIP address of the virtual AN, wherein the mapping relationship in therelationship mapping table further comprises the remote access node ID;and sending the frame to the corresponding remote access node.
 5. Themethod according to claim 1, wherein the proxy node comprises at least afirst node and a second node, and the first node establishes therelationship mapping table, receives the packet, queries therelationship mapping table according to the first parameter informationcarried in the packet to obtain the second parameter information, andsends the second parameter information to the second node; wherein thesecond node sends the packet to the remote access node corresponding tothe second parameter information according to the second parameterinformation.
 6. The method according to claim 5, wherein the mappingrelationship in the relationship mapping table further comprises remoteaccess node identifier (ID); the first parameter information comprisesthe user side port of the virtual AN and the IP address of the virtualAN, and the second parameter information comprises the remote accessnode ID and the user side port of the remote access node; the first nodesending the second parameter information to the second node, comprises:modifying, by the first node, the user side port of the virtual AN inthe packet to the user side port of the remote access node, andforwarding the packet to the second node, wherein the packet carries theremote access node ID and the user side port of the remote access node;and the second node sending the packet to the remote access nodecorresponding to the second parameter information according to thesecond parameter information, comprises: encapsulating, by the secondnode, the packet sent by the first node into a frame and adding theremote access node ID in the frame; and sending the frame to thecorresponding remote access node.
 7. The method according to claim 1,wherein the mapping relationship in the relationship mapping tablefurther comprises an IP address of the remote access node; and thesecond parameter information further comprises the IP address of theremote access node.
 8. The method according to claim 6, wherein beforethe encapsulating the packet into the frame and adding the remote accessnode ID in the frame, the method further comprises: modifying adestination IP address in the packet to the IP address of the remoteaccess node.
 9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the mappingrelationship in the relationship mapping table further comprises a userside port of the proxy node and the second parameter information furthercomprises the user side port of the proxy node.
 10. The method accordingto claim 1, wherein the proxy node corresponds to at least two remoteaccess nodes.
 11. A proxy node, comprising: a processor, configured toestablish a relationship mapping table, wherein the relationship mappingtable comprises a mapping relationship of a network protocol (IP)address of a virtual access node (AN), a user side port of the virtualAN and a user side port of the remote access node, and the virtual AN isa device which the management system is capable of managing; a receiver,configured to receive a packet sent by the management system; theprocessor is further configured to query the relationship mapping tableaccording to first parameter information carried in the packet to obtainsecond parameter information; and a transmitter, configured to send thepacket to a remote access node corresponding to the second parameterinformation according to the second parameter information.
 12. The proxynode according to claim 11, wherein the first parameter informationcomprises the user side port of the virtual AN and a destination IPaddress, the destination IP address is an IP address of the virtual AN,and the second parameter information comprises the user side port of theremote access node.
 13. The proxy node according to claim 12, whereinthe processor is further configured to modify the user side port of thevirtual AN in the packet to the user side port of the remote accessnode.
 14. The proxy node according to claim 13, wherein the processor isfurther configured to encapsulate the packet into a frame and add aremote access node identifier (ID) in the frame, wherein the remoteaccess node ID is obtained using one of following manners: the remoteaccess node ID being obtained according to the user side port of theremote access node, and the remote access node ID being obtained byquerying the relationship mapping table according to the user side portof the virtual AN and the IP address of the virtual AN, wherein themapping relationship in the relationship mapping table further comprisesthe remote access node ID; and the transmitter is configured to send theframe to a corresponding remote access node.
 15. The proxy nodeaccording to claim 11, wherein the proxy node comprises at least a firstnode and a second node, and the first node establishes the relationshipmapping table, receives the packet, queries the relationship mappingtable according to the first parameter information carried in the packetto obtain the second parameter information, and sends the secondparameter information to the second node; wherein the second node sendsthe packet to the remote access node corresponding to the secondparameter information according to the second parameter information. 16.The proxy node according to claim 15, wherein the mapping relationshipin the relationship mapping table further comprises a remote access nodeidentifier (ID); the first parameter information comprises the user sideport of the virtual AN and the IP address of the virtual AN, and thesecond parameter information comprises the remote access node ID and theuser side port of the remote access node; the first node sending thesecond parameter information to the second node, comprises: modifying,by the first node, the user side port of the virtual AN in the packet tothe user side port of the remote access node, and forwarding the packetto the second node, wherein the packet carries the remote access node IDand the user side port of the remote access node; and the second nodesending the packet to the remote access node corresponding to the secondparameter information according to the second parameter information,comprises: encapsulating, by the second node, the packet sent by thefirst node into a frame and adding the remote access node ID in theframe; and sending the frame to the corresponding remote access node.17. The proxy node according to claim 11, wherein the mappingrelationship in the relationship mapping table further comprises an IPaddress of the remote access node; and the second parameter informationfurther comprises the IP address of the remote access node.
 18. Theproxy node according to claim 17, wherein the processor is furtherconfigured to modify a destination IP address in the packet to the IPaddress of the remote access node.
 19. The proxy node according to claim11, wherein the mapping relationship in the relationship mapping tablefurther comprises a user side port of the proxy node and the secondparameter information further comprises the user side port of the proxynode.
 20. The proxy node according to claim 11, wherein the proxy nodecorresponds to at least two remote access nodes.